Capturing Maltese Beauty: Digital Photographic Narratives Platform

Creating inclusive cultural experiences through participatory design

Project Overview

Duration: 4 months
Role: UX Researcher & Designer
Team: Solo project with 10+ community participants
Tools: Figma, Affinity Mapping, Thematic Analysis‍

Read Full Research paper here

The Challenge

Despite Malta's diverse population, there's a lack of inclusive channels for cross-cultural communication and understanding. This results in limited knowledge about local community and cultural beauty, affecting how residents connect with their environment.

The Solution

A digital platform for photographic narratives that captures and promotes diverse perceptions of Maltese beauty through community-driven storytelling.

Research & Discovery

Research Questions

1. How do individuals in Malta perceive beauty in photographs?
2. How does this perception vary across demographic groups and cultural backgrounds?

‍

‍

Ideation & Design Process

Design Thinking Approach

Applied Double Diamond methodology:

1. Discover_: Cultural photography analysis, community interviews
2. Define: Problem framing through affinity mapping
3. Develop: Taxonomy creation and prototype development
4. Deliver: High-fidelity interactive prototype

Content Taxonomy Development

Created 10 categories representing Maltese cultural beauty.

‍

‍

Collaborative Ideation

Conducted brainstorming sessions with 5 participants, using "How Might We" questions to generate solutions.

‍

Design Solutions

Information Architecture

1. Site mapping to ensure logical content flow
2. User journey mapping for intuitive navigation
3. Content categorization based on cultural themes

Prototype Development

Low-fidelity wireframes → High-fidelity interactive prototype

Key features:

1. Category-based navigation
2. Story integration with photography
3. User contribution capability
4. Cultural context preservation

‍

‍

Testing & Validation

Prototype Testing

1. Shared Figma prototype with research participants
2. Gathered feedback on functionality and cultural representation
3. Validated design decisions through user task flows

Measured Outcomes

1. Successfully created inclusive platform representing diverse cultural perspectives
2. Developed reusable taxonomy for cultural photographic narratives
3. Established framework for community-driven cultural documentation

Design Impact

1. Bridged cultural divides through visual storytelling
2. Created space for authentic cultural representation
3. Enabled community participation in cultural preservation

‍

Challenges & Learnings

Key Challenges

1. Balancing subjective perceptions of beauty across cultures
2. Ensuring authentic representation without stereotyping
3. Managing diverse stakeholder expectations
4. Creating scalable content structure

‍

‍

‍

‍

‍